In this episode, Cathi Bond talks about Thync, a wearable that uses what they describe as "low-energy waveforms" to boost your energy or calm you down on demand, via patches that you place on your head. You can find helpful reviews here and especially here, where the journalist had a positive hands-on experience. Nora Young says this is part of a broader trend towards tech that targets brain states, especially for calm and focus, such as the Muse brain wave sensing headband, or the contemplative technology the Buddhist Geeks podcast talks about. Cathi's tempted to get Thync. Would you? Nora also references Kelly McGonigal's new book, The Upside of Stress.
Meanwhile, how would you like to make your own realistic avatar using selfies? Nora talks about research from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. You use your phone to take pictures of yourself from various angles, and shoot short videos of yourself, in order to create avatars that actually look (more or less) like you (via New Scientist). As we move into more VR spaces and situations, would you want to look like yourself, or an idealized version...or maybe a cartoon?
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We're back from summer break, and ready to kick off the new season of The Sniffer. This time, back to work, and one last kick at the summer (camping) can.

The Atlantic has a great, thought-provoking look at the office of the future. Give it a read here. Nora Young and Cathi Bond kick around some of the ideas. Share your pet peeves about office life in the comments.

Meanwhile, Cathi Bond talks about the Polarmond 'sleep system' (via Gizmag, where you can take a look at the images). Say goodbye to cumbersome tent, groundsheet and sleeping bags when you camp, in favour of an all-in-one unit. We'd love to hear from campers out there. It's due out in the spring. Would you use it?

Happy Summer! On this podcast, Nora Young talks about new developments in facial recognition technology, and Cathi and Nora riff on the future of tech that knows who you are, and what you're feeling. We mention Facebook's Moments feature, this article from Fusion.net on Face First, a customer facial recognition tool, and the potential of emotion detecting software for, amongst other things, helping screen-bound kids learn to detect subtle facial cues (via Fast Company).

Also, you've no doubt heard all about the trend in standing desks to avoid the health pitfalls of constant sitting. Cathi Bond talks about a Kickstarter for the Lean Chair. The premise is to avoid the hazards of sitting OR standing too much...by leaning (via Gizmag)! Would you use this? Do you try to stand more at work?

It's all about drones these days, isn't it? If you're into capturing active sports, there's the Lily drone/video camera. It's easy to operate - you just toss it in the air - and it captures video and audio from a variety of angles via Gizmag). When the Lily is officially released, it will cost about $1,000, but it's available for pre-order for a little more than half that. It's a natural for adventure tour companies. What do you think? Would you buy it?

Plus, these days, writers really have to hustle: be active on social media, cultivate their own audiences, and of course, hustle to be recognized by editors. A former editor at a literary magazine talks about the differences between men and women when it comes to following up with editors, and resubmitting work.

And, just for fun, check out the "Flike" - a flying bike - that's basically like three drones stuck together. Dude! Your own hovercraft!

Smart home company, Nest has launched Nest Cam, its new security camera (you can read the details of the product here). Nora Young and Cathi Bond talk use cases, smart homes, and riff on the Internet of Things and our data future. Nora mentions Sandy Pentland and the New Deal on Data (read more here) and concerns about security in smart, internet of things-ified cities.

Cathi talks about Avakai, a super cool 'smart' toy. It keeps the physicality of traditional toys that get kids playing in nature and using their imaginations, but is also built for our internet connected, modern world.

This time around, Nora Young mentions Matthew Crawford's new book, The World Beyond Your Head (interesting reviews here and here). In it, he argues that our problem with digital distraction goes all the way back to the Enlightenment view of the self: highly individualistic, cerebral - stuck in one's head, in short. He argues for the kind of engaged, embodied practice that you might find by, say, working on a motorcycle. He also argues for the importance of shared or "joint" attention, such as you might find with an apprenticeship. Nora and Cathi Bond pick up on that thread for a yak about solitude vs. shared practice.

Plus, if you want to be more mindful, is it enough to rely on your own education in mindfulness, or can technology help? Cathi Bond brings you the Wellbe, a wristband that monitors your heart rate, looking for signs of stress, and notifies you. It also offers calming and mindfulness lessons. Cathi and Nora chat about contemplative technologies, such as those discussed on Buddhist Geeks, and their own thoughts on effective strategies.

Gazebo is a virtual world...for robots! It lets researchers test robot behaviour without risking the expensive robot hardware in a real situation (via Technology Review). In this podcast, Nora Young sees it as an example of the creative power of building on top of an open source platform. Cathi Bond wonders about its potential in medical research.

Sharetable is a very cool desk designed for people who work with clients. The table has a computer on one side and a sort of 'mirror image' set right into the desk on the client side. The client can not only look at the images, but scroll through and manipulate them using touch.

Algramo is a Santiago based company aiming to deliver inexpensive, healthy food to low income people in Latin America via vending machines (via PSFK). As in many parts of the world, food deserts mean people in urban low income areas can't get access to healthy food at reasonable prices. A solution for lots of communities? Cathi Bond weighs in.
The future of virtual reality has long promised that we'd hang out together with our friends virtually, from the comfort of our separate living rooms. Maybe now that VR headsets are nearly ready to go, the time has (nearly) come! AltspaceVR is designing social hangouts for the VR future (via Technology Review). Would you do socialize with pals virtually? Go to concerts together? Or would you miss the meatspace connection?
Plus, Cathi mentions TextBlade. If you don't like tapping things out on your mobile touchpad, this may be for you!
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Nora Young talks about Virool, a new online ad platform that, with your permission, will use your computer's camera to monitor your reactions to the ads you watch (via Springwise). It's an example, she says, of the increasing trend towards tech that monitors our moods and reactions. See, for example, this story or this one on her show Spark.
Cathi Bond, talks about the DARPA Robotics Challenge coming up in June, and in particular, the Atlas robot (via Gizmodo).
Nora mentions David McCandless' infographic about online music services and artists' compensation (via The Guardian)
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